New NC law to take vapes off of shelves
Under a bipartisan bill Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law this week, North Carolina will have a new registry that could lead to many vaping products being removed from store shelves.
The law would allow only the sale of products authorized by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The directory of products would be under the North Carolina Dept. of Revenue.
Stores will have a 60-day grace period after the directory is available to come into compliance. After that, repeat violators could face fines and have their licenses suspended or revoked.
“The vaping epidemic is quite the Wild West, particularly in high school,” said state Rep. Erin Pare (R-Wake). “That’s why this bill passed with broad bipartisan support. It brings order, enforcement, accountability, and transparency to a growing problem.”
The bill faced opposition from some operators of convenience stores, who worry it will have a negative impact on their revenue. Ches McDowell, who represents a group of Asian-American convenience store owners, warned it could also lead to lost jobs.
The Vapor Technology Association also urged Gov. Cooper to veto the bill, calling the FDA’s process illegal and saying the measure is “propping up cigarettes and hurting public health”.
Representatives of the tobacco industry advocated for the bill as it moved through committees in the state legislature, including Susan Vick, who lobbies for Reynolds American. She told lawmakers about visiting a store in Raleigh and finding a plethora of products from China.
Pare said the new law will help to get unregulated products from overseas off the shelves and reduce the prevalence of products that appear to be marketed to young people.
“We don’t really know what’s in them,” she said.
The state’s most recent Youth Tobacco Survey in 2022 showed one in eight high school students reported currently using a tobacco product. E-cigarettes were the top product used by the youth.
The law takes effect Dec. 1. The directory is expected to be available in early 2025.
Looking back at John David Baker’s journey to the Pirates
On December 2, 2023, the Pirates had found their new offensive coordinator following the departure of former offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick at the conclusion of the 2023 collegiate football season.
John David Baker, who was the co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for the University of Mississippi, was chosen to take on the new role on ECU Head Coach Mike Houston’s staff. Baker was a former college quarterback who had spent four years playing at Abilene Christian University. In 2014, he threw for over 3,376 yards, 35 touchdowns along with rushing for over 256 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
After his collegiate career as a player ended, Baker took his first step into the coaching world, taking a position on his alma mater’s coaching staff to become a graduate assistant coach for Abilene Christian. Baker would spend two years there before making the move to North
Texas University to become an offensive quality control coach. In 2019, when Purdue offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was the offensive coordinator at North Texas, Harrell was offered the position at the University of Southern California.
When Harrell accepted the position at USC, he took Baker with him to retain his role as an offensive quality control coach. In 2020, Baker was promoted to his first positional coaching role, becoming the tight end coach for USC. Following the stint at USC, Baker took his talents to Ole Miss, becoming the tight ends coach and the passing game coordinator for the Rebels on January 28, 2021.
With Baker in control, Ole Miss’s passing game was top five in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in passing yards, passing yards per game, yards per passing attempt, and completion percentage for the 2021 season. In 2022, Baker was pushed into a bigger role, becoming the co-offensive coordinator for Ole Miss while also retaining his role as tight end coach. While the
passing stats for Ole Miss went down in 2022, they were dominant in the run game.
Ole Miss led the SEC in rushing yards per game and total rushing yards on the year. Those numbers would also put Ole Miss in third for rushing yards per game and fourth in total rushing yards in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). In 2023, Ole Miss would revert back to their 2021 form in passing, becoming once again a top five passing offense in the SEC.
The Pirates are hoping that all of this former success that Baker achieved in his previous stops will help reinvent the offense for ECU in 2024. The Pirates were one of the worst statistical passing offenses in the NCAA, ranking near the bottom in passing statistics, such as passing touchdowns, passing yards per attempt and passing yards per game in 2023. There is no doubt that gradual improvement under Baker would be welcome in 2024.
Bird flu to spread on dairy farms
Public health officials are concerned about bird flu, which so far has been detected in three dairy farmworkers — two in Michigan and one in Texas — as well as in cattle in a dozen states.
The farmworkers’ symptoms were mild, and researchers have not found that the H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu, can spread from person to person.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is little risk to the general public. However, flu viruses evolve, and H5N1 could mutate and gain the ability to infect people more easily.
“The reason public health authorities are and should be on high alert is because this is a potential high-consequence pathogen,” said Meghan Davis, an epidemiologist and microbiologist at Johns Hopkins University.
That’s why state officials are so focused on testing and surveillance of dairy workers. But they are encountering significant challenges.
H5N1 is deadly to domestic poultry and can wipe out entire flocks in a matter of days, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. As a result, the poultry industry has responded vigorously to the threat, culling entire flocks when they
detect even one infected bird. But H5N1 is milder in cows, and the response on dairy farms has been less aggressive.
The CDC and USDA have advised dairy farms to monitor for the virus in cattle and humans, but testing remains voluntary, except for herds moving across state lines.
In addition, dairy farms are often in remote rural areas, and workers have little access to transportation and no sick leave. As a result, it’s difficult for them to travel to health care providers for testing
and treatment. Many dairy workers, who are mostly immigrants, speak Indigenous languages like Nahuatl or K’iche, according to the National Center for Farmworker Health, a nonprofit that offers support and training for centers that focus on the health of farmworkers.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, emphasized that the current bird flu strain isn’t a pandemic threat to humans. That’s why, he said, this is the perfect time to get the right testing and surveillance measures in place.
“If you can’t get it right with something that’s as forgiving as this virus has been, in terms of its inefficiency in infecting humans, it really doesn’t bode well for when the stakes are higher,” Adalja said.
So far, cases of the virus have been documented among domestic livestock in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, according to the USDA. Last month, federal officials announced grants to farms to offset the cost of milk loss from sick cows.
Staff Report
COURTESY OF ECU PIRATES
East Carolina University's football team goes out onto the field in the beginning of a home game in Greenville, NC at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Nada Hassanein
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Trevon McGlone TEC STAFF
BRIEFS
Over 1,700 students return to UNC System
A program aimed at bringing former students back into the UNC System through a partnership with Project Kitty Hawk, allows students to complete their bachelor’s degree and is having an effect on enrollment throughout the state.
The re-enrollment program is an affiliated entity of the UNC System and it contacts former students who started a degree at a UNC System institution but never finished.
The city of Greenville partnered with a local builder and continues to pursue phase two of an affordable housing project with four new affordable homes in Greenville’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.
These homes are a part of the six being constructed for $1.2 million by Bill Clark Homes that is a part of an affordable housing initiative that began in 2019. Phase one was completed in 2021 and included four homes for $485,000.
ECU dental school to introduce potential students to dentistry
The School of Dental Medicine established a program called Preparing Tomorrow’s Dentists (PTD) in 2013. The program aims to develop activities to enhance student's awareness of the dental profession.
The program features an overview of the first year in dental school, hands-on lab experiences, opportunities to interact with dental students in the clinical setting, seminars in time management and test taking skills , personal statement review and other activities.
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
"Taking the Leap" program
If you feel there are any factual errors in this newspaper, please contact Jaylin Roberts at editor@theeastcarolinian.com.
MOVIE REVIEW: Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 is a sequel that hit the movie theaters on June 14, 2024. It follows Riley’s journey into puberty as she is experiencing brand new emotions for the very first time. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust have been helping Riley with her emotions up until when she hits puberty and four new emotions arrive. The new emotions that arrive are Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui. Riley is now headed into her teenage years and is about to start high school. During the time leading up to Riley’s teenage years, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust have helped Riley develop her sense of self. It's a new section in Riley’s mind, and it is built off of Riley’s memories that have helped create the beliefs and values she has.
The first Inside Out movie has done a great job so far depicting every emotion that Riley has had leading up to her teenage years. With the arrival of her new emotions in Inside out 2, Anxiety plays a huge role in the beginning of Riley’s journey with puberty. The movie shows the straightforward nature of Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness and with the arrival
of Anxiety the movie shows the audience the fluid nature of the new emotion.
When Anxiety shows up in headquarters, Riley goes off to hockey camp at the new highschool she will be attending. Conflict starts to happen between Anxiety and the other emotions and throughout the movie the true nature of Anxiety is shown. It depicts how easy it is for that emotion to take control over all of the other ones, especially when Riley is dealing with experiences she has never dealt with before.
The Inside Out sequel has resonated with a lot of people from all ages. Having a movie that shows the audience how every single person has emotions and that it is okay to feel your emotions is important for the younger audience to see growing up. It's also important for the older crowd watching the movie to see how the same emotions they might have are depicted in a way that they resonate with. It's a validating experience for a lot of the audience watching the new movie.
The movie also shows how sometimes it is important to recognize that you are not your emotions, especially when someone experiences anxiety. It shows the inner turmoil a
person can have with their emotions that no one else sees. It shows just how complex the mind is and all of the inner workings within it.
Overall Inside Out 2 is a movie that everyone should watch if they want to understand their emotions more. This movie will have its audience of all ages tearing up when they watch it.
Four new affordable homes in Lincoln Park
Jaylin Roberts TEC STAFF
EVENTS
TOMORROW
Concert on the Common Greenville Toyota Amphitheater
105 E. 1st Street, Greenville, NC 27858
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (252) 329 - 4543
The Analog Variety Show Alley Cat Records
1011 Charles St., Greenville, NC 27858
6 to 9:30 p.m. (252) 751 - 0590
2024 Market on the Square Winterville Chamber 252 Main Street, Winterville, NC 28590
4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Live Music Thursdays 5th Street Hardware Restaurant and Taproom
120 W 5th St, Greenville, NC 27858
6 to 9 p.m. (252) 364 - 8921
Summer Guitar Festival: Afternoon Concert 1
ECU A. J. Fletcher Music Center
102 A. J. Fletcher Music Center, Greenville, NC 27858
TOMORROW
Duck-Rabbit Friday Night Trivia Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
4519 W. Pine St., Farmville, NC 27828
7 to 11:59 p.m. (252) 274- 4512
Summer Guitar Festival: Afternoon Concert 2
ECU A. J. Fletcher Music Center
102 A. J. Fletcher Music Center, Greenville, NC 27858 4 to 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
Live at Nash Hot Chicken Nash Hot Chicken 114 East 5th Street, Greenville, NC 27858
8 to 11 p.m. (252) 999 - 5444
Summer Guitar Festival: Afternoon Concert 3
ECU A. J. Fletcher Music Center
102 A. J. Fletcher Music Center, Greenville, NC 27858 7 to 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
July Midsummer Drag Brunch The Scullery 431 Evans St, Greenville , NC 27858
1 to 2:30 p.m. (252) 321 - 1550
Sunday in the Park Greenville Toyota Amphitheater 105 E. 1st St., Greenville, NC 27858
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (252) 758 - 7246
ECU to host Summer Guitar Festival
East Carolina University will be hosting its 26th annual Summer Guitar Festival and Workshop. This event will be held from July 11 to 14, in the A.J. Fletcher Music Center. The event will feature public concerts and instruction. It is also open to students of all skill levels wantiang to learn or improve their guitar skills.
Participants will be taught by artists who serve as festival faculty and concert performers. This year they will include four ECU School of Music graduates Armin Abdihodzic, Jean Pierre Castillo, Adam Kossler and Jesse Reece.
The concert lineup includes:
Afternoon concert one at 4 p.m. - Patrick Lui and Colin Fullerton. Evening concert one at 7 p.m. - Elliot Frank and the Kossler Duo.
Afternoon concert two at 4 p.m. - Jesse Reece and Jean Pierre Castillo. Evening concert two at 7 p.m. - Armin Abdihodzic and the Li and Zohn Duo. July 13
Evening concert three at 7 p.m. - Jeremy Waldrip and the Akerman Teixeira. These events are ticketed, The individual afternoon concert tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. The evening concert tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets for all five of the concerts are $30 for adults and $20 for students, there is also a family fate of $50. Tickets can be bought online at tickets.ecu.edu or purchased at the door.
This writer can be contacted at arts@theeastcarolinian.com.
dairy farms, and farms that employ immigrants produce 79% of the nation’s milk supply, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.
Four states — Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas — are launching voluntary pilot programs to test for the virus in dairy farms’ bulk milk tanks.
In Michigan, where the virus has been detected in 25 herds, Tim Boring, director of the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said efforts are focused on trying to help farmers recoup losses and agree to testing. Last month, the agency announced it would use a combination of federal and state money to give as much as $28,000 to up to 20 affected farms.
The state also launched a study to find out if there are antibodies in people exposed to sick cows, aiming to determine if there have been any asymptomatic infections.
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said the state is working with community health clinics and local health departments to reach farmworkers.
“They not only know the farms in their counties, but they also know many of the farmworker organizations,” she said.
Dairy farmworkers, who are often immigrants, can’t afford to miss a day of work, and can be reluctant to reach out to request testing or say they feel sick, advocates say.
“This is a population of people that is just vastly underserviced when it comes to both outreach and trust established with state and federal agencies,” said Elizabeth Strater, strategic campaigns director at United Farm Workers, a labor union. “This is a group of workers that are some of the poorest workers in the United States.”
Immigrants make up 51% of daily labor at
Amy Liebman of the Migrant Clinicians Network, an education and outreach group of experts in migrant health, said testing should be administered on the farms rather than in clinics.
“Dairies are in rural areas, very isolated geographically. You’re not going to get all these workers in one place to be able to do any kind of surveying or testing. It is a matter of really trying to go to where the workers are,” she said.
But it hasn’t been easy getting farm owners to agree to that. The Texas state health department told Stateline it has offered on-site testing to farmers, but as of mid-June, it had tested only about 20 symptomatic dairy workers who volunteered for testing. It also has given personal protective equipment to “interested dairies” and posted a notice online offering to deliver the equipment.
Coordination among state or local agricultural and health departments is key to tracking viral spread. A lack of coordination and monitoring can be contributing to underreporting cases.
“I think it is definitely more widespread than is currently reported,” said Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine. “The barriers between the agencies are really hampering our efforts right now.”
The CDC has offered a $75 payment to any farmworker who agrees to be tested and provide blood and nasal swab samples to the agency. But Doris Garcia-Ruiz, who directs farmworker outreach at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, said that won’t make up for days of lost income.
“If they take the time off to go to their doctor’s office, they don’t have sick leave, so they’re not going to get paid,” she said.
The CDC’s latest figures show that at least 53 people have been tested in the cattle outbreak,
with a majority of those in Michigan. Strater says that’s not enough.
“That’s abysmal,” she said. “Our method of testing is so passive. They’re relying on workers reporting to medical clinics; these are workers that are not going to be taking themselves for medical treatment unless they’re experiencing something life-threatening.”
Getting workers to use personal protective equipment also is a challenge. The CDC recommends that workers wear respirators, waterproof aprons and coveralls, unvented safety goggles or a face shield, and rubber boots with sealed seams that can be sanitized. It also advises that workers follow a specific sequence of steps to remove the PPE at the end of a shift to avoid contamination.
“Dairy work is very wet, very hands-on,” said Christine Sauvé, who leads community engagement at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. “While some industries are very familiar with PPE … the full recommendation from CDC is new and different. And so that really needs the full promotion from the employer, and then also from the state agencies.”
Sauvé worries that Michigan is prioritizing farmers’ losses, rather than farmworkers’ health, in its response. While the risk to the public is low, she and other experts say the population of farmworkers shouldn’t be forgotten.
Bethany Alcauter of the National Center for Farmworker Health described bird flu threat as “kind of a ticking time bomb.”
“Maybe it hasn’t fully gone off yet. But if we don’t manage it well, it could,” Alcauter said.
CAROLYN COLE I TRIBUNE NEWS SERIVE
Despite assurances from the federal government that bird flu will be eradicated from the nation’s dairy cows some experts worry that
COURTESY OF EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Armin Abdihodzic, ECU alumnus and professor of guitar at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will take the stage July 12.
Opinion
OUR VIEW
LGBTQ+ community need safe spaces
The Paddock Club was once a space in Greenville where the LGBTQ+ community were allowed to express themselves in whatever way they wanted to. It was a nightclub that hosted events and created a community.
When the club closed down in Greenville, there wasn’t a physical space anymore that provided a place for the LGBTQ+ community the way the Paddock Club did.
We, the editorial staff of The East Carolinian believe that there should be more spaces in Greenville that provide a safe environment for the LGBTQ+ community to express themselves freely.
Having a safe space where the LGBTQ+ community can express themselves freely is important, especially for those that are younger inside of the community. When people are going throughout their life figuring out their sexuality and trying to find out what is right for them, there should be spaces to allow them the opportunity to do that.
In Greenville there are places that provide information and education about the LGBTQ+ community but there should be more places where people in the community can express themselves more creatively.
Adding more places for the LGBTQ+ community that include dancing, music, creativity and an opportunity to create a community can lead the minds of young people in the direction that makes them feel comfortable within their own skin.
PIRATE RANTS
I can’t wait for football season, hopefully our team does better than last season.
I hate Greenville heat, I literally can’t breathe when I go outside.
I think our women’s sports teams should get more fan support after solid performances last year.
Why don’t we talk about the racism that happens inside of the bars and clubs in DT?
4th of July is just an excuse for Americans to BBQ and and shoot fireworks.
Lets get rid of summer already, I’m sooooooooo ready to see leaves fall off of the trees.
WE ARE FINALLY GETTING A TRADER JOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What happened to ECU being a party school? Lol that’s what I came here for.
Ahh yes, the time of the year where the smell of hotdogs, hamburgers and firework smoke fill the air. People are surrounded by loved ones taking photos and watching the firework show together.
Last week I attended Greenville’s Fourth of July celebration in the park to take photos.
I went alone parchally to bury myself in my work and the fact that I couldn’t go home to celebrate with my family.
Later I found myself a spot on the lawn by the Toyota Amphitheater to sit down and relax for a minute. I sat and continued to take photos of people and the concert going on.
It was a mix of me getting up and standing in front of the stage to get shots of the performers, people dancing and people just being themselves. Even though they probably wouldn’t have gotten in front of a large group of people and doing random dances without a drink in their system.
For most of the night I was taking photos and keeping myself busy, until I saw a couple dancing together on the lawn. It was like I was watching these two people fall in love, completely in unison together. I couldn’t stop snapping photos of them, and then I realized I could bury myself in my work, enjoy this festival and have fun.
I just missed my family and the Fourth of July parties we would have at home in our Cul de sac, with hundreds of dollars in fireworks bought by our community, filling the sky with light.
As photographers I think we bury ourselves in our work to get away from something because it is easy to disassociate through the lens of our cameras. For me this was definitely what I was doing, I missed my sense of community, and already felt like I shouldn’t be celebrating this Fourth of July because of everything that is happening with the country we live in.
That was when the “Bikers Shuffle” came on, I couldn’t help myself but dance and forget the whole reason I came out there. Then I sat back down again but this time with my camera safe in its bag, so that I could enjoy the event, take a well deserved break and people watch.
I watched people be excited to just be with each other. This was something I didn’t have this year, but I think my family would want me to have fun even though I couldn’t be there with them to celebrate.
It was finally time for fireworks, I watched people pull out their phones and disconnect from each other to post videos on social media of the fireworks they were watching.
I learned even when I’m not with the people I love, to still stay in the moment, and silently connect with the community I was with in the moment. Watching the families I recently saw be so involved with each other, to them taking videos of the fireworks and disconnecting broke my heart. I finally told myself, even though I don’t know these people, I should sit back, watch and listen to everything from the fireworks, to the people, to myself and how I felt in the moment.
Did posting those fireworks really show how much fun you were having or did it take you into an alternate universe of likes, comments and disconnection from the ones around you? Yes you can have these memories in your phone, but you will never get the feeling back from enjoying the moment and looking through a screen.
As a photographer it was refreshing to just experience everything through me instead of through my camera’s lens, as it can skew reality.
While Pride Month may be over, we must remember that LGBTQ+ rights remain under persistent attack.
Consider family expulsion, rising hate crimes, discriminatory state policies and negative rhetoric from politicians. This discrimination — coupled with funding cuts to federal LGBTQ+ programs — is particularly challenging for teenagers and young adults who are in a vulnerable developmental period; it also increases their risk of homelessness.
The irony is, we know how to support unhoused LGBTQ+ youth — we simply need the will, and funding, to do it.
A nationwide study among nearly 35,000 LGBTQ+ youth found that 28% experienced housing instability or homelessness, and 8.8% ran away from home because of actual or anticipated mistreatment due to their sexual or gender identity; two in five said they had been kicked out or abandoned.
LGBTQ+ young people are disproportionately represented among unhoused populations; even though they make up less than 10% of the U.S. population, they account for 30 to 40% of all homeless youth. Housing instability and poor mental health outcomes are often intertwined: 84% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth reportedanxiety in the past year, 82% reported depression and 35% reported a suicide attempt. These statistics demonstrate why we need to develop services and programs that address the needs of unhoused LGBTQ+ teenagers and youth.
Shelters can be an important stopgap
to facilitate linkage to services and longterm housing, but many are ill-equipped to serve LGBTQ+ youth. Two-thirds of shelters describe funding as the main barrier to staying open and serving youth, and nearly half lack dedicated LGBTQ+ staff or staff trained in their needs. Scarce privacy (e.g., shared rooms and lack of private showers) can make LGBTQ+ youth uncomfortable. The federal government spends about $75 per homeless youth per year, profoundly limiting what can be allocated to LGBTQ+ tailored programming.
Faith-based organizations, which operate nearly 30% of emergency shelters nationally, are exempt from federal nondiscrimination laws, and can simply refuse shelter to LGBTQ+ youth. While California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits sexuality- and gender-based discrimination in shelters, not all states have such a law. Federal policies should mandate that all shelters — regardless of their funding stream — accept LGBTQ+
youth and mandate training to ensure staff understand their needs.
This lack of tailored programming and shelters where LGBTQ+ youth feel safe has dire consequences. In more than two decades of work with LGBTQ+ youth as a researcher and volunteer, I have heard many stories from young people who were verbally and physically accosted in shelters. Many chose to return to the streets, where they felt safer.
Successful programs and policies can be scaled up and adapted to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth nationwide. For example, the 2020 Runaway and Homeless Youth Act provided $132 million for youth-focused shelters — but not specifically for LGBTQ+ youth. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has created a national policy statement about how to support LGBTQ+ homeless youth. While this statement outlines important and inclusive approaches, their implementation is not mandated by any legal entity and the proposed approaches are not enforceable. Given their marginalized status, LGBTQ+ youth deserve dedicated housing and tailored resources. Successful examples of this include Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco and Ali Forney Center and Covenant House in New York City. These groups provide emergency shelter, as well as longer-term housing support ranging from dorm-style living to independent apartments.
State and local governments need to invest in tailored services and programs that support LGBTQ+ teenagers and youth, including mental health, education and employment resources.
Classifieds & Puzzles
HOROSCOPES
Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 9 — Romance, creativity and passion come easier, with Venus in Leo for a month. You’re especially lucky with love, fun and games. Artistic efforts flourish.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 9 — Feather your nest. Domestic bliss inspires this month, with Venus in Leo. Infuse love into your home. Beautify spaces. Prepare something delicious. Share with family.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — Trust your heart to lead. You love learning, with Venus in Leo for a month. Develop interesting creative projects. Write, express and share your story.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — Gather income. The next month, with Venus in Leo, can get lucrative. Profit from putting your heart into your work. Discover your financial comfort zone.
COMICS
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — For the next month, with Venus in your sign, you’re especially irresistible. Try a new style. Fall in love with a new passion.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — Discover beauty in tranquility over the next month, with Venus in Leo. Dreams and fantasies abound. Make passionate, imaginative plans. Invent new possibilities.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Get out in public. You’re especially popular, with Venus in Leo this month. Participate with community causes. Get social. You can make friends easily.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Build work with a heart connection. Develop professional passion projects over the next month, with Venus in Leo. Watch for exciting opportunities to grow.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 9 — Venture forth into new terrain. This next month, with Venus in Leo, favors travel and exploration. Study, research and investigate a subject that you love.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — It’s all for love. Collaboration gets especially lucrative, with Venus in Leo. Get into a profitable groove with your partner this month. Grow shared ventures.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Strengthen and renew bonds with your sweetheart. Partnerships flow with greater ease for the next month, with Venus in Leo. Share what you love.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9 — Get your heart pumping. Physical action gets lovely results, with Venus in Leo. Balance a busy schedule with fresh air, nature and exercise.
by Jacqueline E. Mathews
Jacqueline E. Mathews
Euro 2024 begins in Munich and Dortmund
The final four stand in the countries of the Netherlands, England, Spain and France.
The UEFA European Championship enters into its semifinals stage, with England and the Netherlands facing off against each other in Dortmund, Germany, while Spain and France do the same in Munich, Germany. The winner of those two matches will make it to the championship final being held in Berlin, Germany on Sunday, June 14. Spain and England are the slight favorites to win their semi-final matchups. Here’s what the road to the semi-finals looked for each team.
Spain was at the top of their group with a clean nine points by collecting three wins against their group opponents, Italy, Croatia and Albania. They survived an early scare against Georgia when they went down early due to an own goal but eventually came back to win. Spain then knocked out the host country Germany in extra time to book their ticket into the semi-finals.
England’s story was a bit more of a sluggish battle. While they topped their group, they only managed to beat Serbia
in the group stage, while drawing against Denmark and Slovenia. In their next game, they were seconds away from being knocked out of the tournament by Slovakia, but a miraculous goal by England midfielder Jude Bellingham saved their hopes, while England striker Harry Kane knocked one in early in extra time to seal a close win. The same situation played out against Switzerland until England winger Bukayo Saka tied the game late, as England went on to beat the Swiss in a penalty shootout to get to the semi-finals.
France’s path to the semi-finals is a little similar to England’s, placing second in their group after failing to score a single open play goal in any of the games they played so far. France’s only win in the group stage came from an own goal committed by Denmark. They drew against the Netherlands, who placed third in their group, and Poland before beating Belgium via another own goal in the round of 16, and then defeating Portugal in the quarterfinals via penalty shootout to get to the semi-finals. Credit deserves to go to France’s defense, as they’ve only conceded one goal this entire tournament.
The Netherlands as previously mentioned, got to the round of 16 thanks to a third place bid after finishing under
Austria and France in their group. This matched them up against a Romania team that surprisingly got first place in their group, which showcased the differences between finishing in a weak group versus a strong one, as the Netherlands dispatched them with ease 3-0. Turkey however, would take an early lead over the Netherlands in their quarterfinals matchup. The Netherlands would stage a quick comeback in the second half, scoring two goals to get past Turkey and win 2-1 to get to the semi-finals.
Winning this European championship would be a huge statement for each of these remaining sides. For England, it would be the first time they’ve ever won the Euros, along with revenge, with the closest they got being just four years ago before losing in the final in England to Italy via penalty shootout. The Netherlands can win their first Euro title since 1988. Spain can overcome their major injuries and win their fourth euro title, and first since 2012 during their so called “golden era” of soccer, while France can obtain their third, and first since the beginning of the millennium in 2000.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
Pirates to host two cross country meets during 2024 season
Staff Report
The East Carolina cross country program is set to host two meets in the fall as part of their four-meet 2024 regular season according to ECU Pirates.
“We are excited for another year of cross country for the pirates!” said head cross country coach Billy Caldwell. “Bringing two meets to Greenville allows us to feel the support of the community and we will take that into the championship portion of the season! Our athletes are excited and training hard to make sure we are ready to go this fall!”
The Pirates are set to open their campaign with the inaugural Battle in the Boneyard on Saturday, Aug. 31 at the North Campus Recreation Complex. It will be the first meet the program has hosted at the venue.
The team follows that up with the Adidas XC Challenge, hosted by NC State on Sept. 20 at the WakeMed Soccer Complex before returning home for the annual Pirate Invitational at Overton’s Lake Kristi in Greenville.
The regular season concludes at Virginia’s Panorama Farms Invitational on Oct. 19.
The 2024 American Athletic Conference Championships will take place on Nov. 1 at the Clapp Cross Country Course in Wichita, Kan. while the NCAA Southeast Regional will be in Rock Hill, S.C. on Nov. 15.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
East Carolina, Clemson agree to 2029 Football game
football
and
games. The first game of the Football season is on Aug. 31 against Norfolk State University at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
ECU and Clemson have agreed to play a non-conference football game on Spet. 1, 2029, at Memorial Stadium, according to a joint announcement by both institutions and ECU Pirates.
The meeting will mark ECU’s initial visit to Clemson and the Pirates’ first road contest against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent syncing facing NC State to open the
announcement
the
We are extremely excited to add Clemson to our schedule,” East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. “East Carolina is committed to facing high quality non-conference opponents as we continue to showcase our brand across the country.
“This is another great opportunity to take our program to one of the country’s best college football atmospheres in Memorial Stadium (Death Valley). We continue to try and find the delicate balance between playing guarantee games while also providing a competitive schedule for our program and fans.” The contest against Clemson will maintain the continuity of Power Conference opponents on East Carolina’s future schedules that includes games against NC State (2025, away and 2028, home), BYU (2025, home), West Virginia (2026, home), Wake Forest (2027, home and 2028,away) and South Carolina (2030, away).
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
JOHN THYS I TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Wales’ striker Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during a UEFA Nations League group match against Netherlands at the Feyenoord “De Kuip” stadium in Rotterdam, June 14 2022.
Trevon McGlone
COURTESY OF ECU PIRATES
East Carolina University’s
team plans ahead for future
potiental
Staff Report